A wave of shock reverberated through the baseball world late Thursday night when a starless agent Kyle Tucker<\/u><\/b> signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on an impressive four-year, $240 million contract<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n The deal includes a $64 million signing bonus, opt-outs after both the second and third seasons and $30 million in deferred revenue.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Tucker now has the highest current-day average annual salary of any player in major league history at $57.1 million, surpassing This is Juan Soto’s place<\/b> $51 million was set last season.<\/p>\n Besides the Dodgers, the Mets and Blue Jays were both in high pursuit of Tucker.<\/p>\n The Mets offered the same massive four-year, $220 million deal with no deferred money and a $75 million signing bonus. That was a huge signing bonus and (obviously) a bit of a down payment compared to the Dodgers’ winning offer.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The exact terms of the Blue Jays’ final offer to Tucker are unknown, but reports suggest they were more focused on a long-term deal with less money per year. It’s clear that Tucker’s camp couldn’t turn down AAV’s record and the opportunity to re-evaluate the free agent market in two years.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tucker will join forces Shohei Ohtani<\/b>, Mookie Betts<\/b>, Freddie Freeman<\/b>again Will Smith<\/b> in what is the best program in baseball as the Dodgers chase their third World Series title.<\/p>\n What an embarrassment of riches. Tucker is now the eighth Dodger with at least $100 million in contracts<\/u><\/span>. The Phillies, Padres, and Blue Jays are next with six and the Yankees and Giants have five each. Seven teams do not have a single active player over that threshold.<\/p>\n MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n MLB Free Agent Tracker 2025-26: Mets target Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker set to join Dodgers in big deal<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Stay up-to-date on the MLB free agent market this offseason, including player signings, contract details, and team balances as the 2025-26 Hot Stove heats up.<\/span><\/p>\n DJShortBW.jpg<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n DJ Short<\/p>\n ,<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n As ridiculous as it may sound, Tucker will fill a huge hole in the Dodgers’ roster.<\/p>\n Although they scored the most runs per game in the National League last season, their outings were not productive at the plate. Cumulatively, they had a .240 batting average, .299 on-base percentage, and a .714 OPS. That was remarkably similar This is Lourdes Gurriel’s place<\/b> slash line.<\/p>\n They suffered a lot during the playoffs, scoring just 4.2 runs per game and 3.7 in the World Series. Even the star-studded lineup is their defense, pitching, and bottom line Miguel Rojas<\/b> he bailed them out.<\/p>\n This will be less of a problem after adding Tucker. His .895 OPS over the past two seasons is exactly the same as Vladimir Guerrero Jr<\/b> and higher than that Photo by Kyle Schwarber<\/b>without the same fanfare.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He has been one of the most productive players in the league since becoming a full-time player in 2021 with both a top 10 fWAR and top 10 wRC+ over the past five years.<\/p>\n Few players make good swing decisions like Tucker either. He’s rarely thrown pitches out of the zone, contributed decently to the zone, and walked more than he’s struck out over the past two years.<\/p>\n By all accounts, he is one of the few best hitters in the game.<\/p>\n However, the two serious injuries that caused the break \u2014 a bad shin ball in 2024 and spraining his right hand at second base last season \u2014 appeared to severely damage Tucker’s value on the open market and standing among certain fan groups.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Also, he never measured up to many of the important statistical measurements we look for when evaluating a star player.<\/p>\n Tucker has never surpassed 30 home runs, a .300 batting average, or five fWARs in a single season. On top of that, his strikeout velocity is average and his batted ball data is in line with the highest paid person in the sport this coming season.<\/p>\n Still, his production speaks for itself and those kinds of concerns carry far less weight when he signs a four-year deal compared to the 10 or 12 years many expected him to get when this season started.<\/p>\n Is this deal a bad value? Maybe a dollar per MPI. The Dodgers obviously don’t care though and Tucker is likely to be one of the most productive hitters in their All-Star-powered game. He also protects them from the aging Freeman and Betts becoming elite players for the next few seasons. The rich get really rich.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Now it’s a bit lost on the shova, starting pitcher Guard Su\u00e1rez<\/u><\/b> signed a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox<\/u><\/span> on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n This agreement came as a surprise for several reasons.<\/p>\n First, the Red Sox weren’t linked to Su\u00e1rez all season. Moreover, it was as if there were no other groups or<\/b>. His market was largely unknown to the public until Boston came rushing in after a miss Alex Bregman on the weekend<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n Next, the Red Sox weren’t starved for rotation help. They traded Sonny Gray<\/b> at the beginning of this offseason to support Garrett Crochet<\/b> up again Johan Oviedo<\/b> over time to provide depth at the end.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n They still have it Bryan Bello<\/b> as a solid number-four type, veterans Patrick Sandoval<\/b> again Cutter Crawford<\/b> in preparation, and highly charged rookies Payton Tolle<\/b> again Connelly Early <\/b>struggling to find their gun. Also, the former high prospect Kyle Harrison<\/b> ready in the wings. Also, starting pitching was more of a waste than a real need.<\/p>\n Finally, Su\u00e1rez was a strange free agent to project. He has excelled throughout his career with a 2.91 overall ERA as a starter and is known as one of the best artisans in the game. He is considered a playoff riser as well with a 1.48 ERA in 42 2\/3 postseason innings.<\/p>\n On the other hand, he doesn’t do many of the things that teams value most on the open market.<\/p>\n His 21.9% strikeout rate over his last four seasons as a starter is a hair below league average. Also, he never threw more than 160 innings in a regular season. More troubling, his average fastball velocity has dropped by more than two full miles per hour over the past two seasons. It went from over 93 mph to almost over 91 mph.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Granted, speed is less important to a pitcher like Su\u00e1rez than others.<\/p>\n He has a deep five-pitch mix that forces hitters to make uncomfortable decisions as he works the edges with incredible consistency. Su\u00e1rez also relies on the sinker more than the four-seam ball and the former doesn’t rely too much on speed to be effective.<\/p>\n However, he drifts dangerously where he can get into a lot of trouble when throwing those fastballs.<\/p>\n Su\u00e1rez was one of 24 pitchers whose fastball velocity was at or below 92 mph last season. The list includes strong names like, Shota Imanaga<\/b> again Jacob Lopez<\/b>but it was full of boys Jose Quintana<\/b>, Photo by Clayton Kershaw<\/b> a corpse, too Tyler Anderson<\/b>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Even getting one tick could do wonders for Su\u00e1rez as he approaches the back end of this deal. Look for fastballs that are more effective (relatively) if the left-handed pitcher can stretch back over 92 mph.<\/p>\n Don’t forget: Keep a close eye on<\/i><\/b> Rotoworld Player News page<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/span> so you don’t miss any action.<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
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Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox<\/b><\/h2>\n